Vegan MoFo Day 13: TofuXPress, I love you...

I admit that, when I first heard of the TofuXpress, I mocked it mercilessly. Why in the holy bejeezus would I need a tool for pressing tofu? Heck, half the time, I do little more than blot the stuff off with a paper towel. I am here to tell you I was wrong. (And, if you are the FTC, no one gave me a free one, or has ever given me anything for the blog. I bought it myself, thank you.)

When Julie wrote about this thing, I started wondering, as I find her very trustworthy. After watching some YouTube videos, I broke down and bought one. You will not believe what a good job it does at pressing tofu, with no mess at all. You put it in the press, slide the lid on, and (if you are me) put it in the fridge for hours and forget about it. When as pressed as you want it to be, you can use the box for marinating (see photo). The base becomes a lid. (Warning: it is not super-tight, so don't shake it.) In the photo, I was making this Bryanna recipe, and it was perfectly marinated.

The manufacturer gives instructions for other uses. They indicate that you can press grains and veggies together to form a block, and then slice and serve - or slice, bread, fry - or whatever you fancy. I am eager to try some of these other uses, but for now, I can't stop pressing tofu!

Vegan MoFo Day 12: Raw Food

First of all, sorry for the shadowy photos, but you can tell it to stop raining in Tennessee!

I first encountered raw food in childhood, when my grandmother tried it as a way of addressing her arthritis and other health problems. She used The "No-Cook" Book by John Tobe, which was published in 1969. It's mostly vegan, but with a little honey, dairy and fish. When my grandparents died, this book is one of the items that found its way to me. I really need to try some of the recipes... maybe later in MoFo...

Some years ago, when living in New York City, I rediscovered the wonders of raw or living cuisine. I obviously have much love for cooked food, too, and I don't buy into the philosophy that sometimes accompanies the raw movement, but I thoroughly enjoy the occasional raw day. At the very least, it is a fun and healthy way to vary one's diet.

I didn't try making raw food for myself until I moved back to Tennessee, and met Laura Button, founder of Journey to Bliss, a local raw food company. Laura teaches wonderful and inspiring classes. After taking some of Laura's classes, I've gradually accumulated a few raw "cookbooks" which are great for ideas. One of my favorites is Ani's Raw Food Kitchen by Ani Phyo. We've liked everything we've made from it. Photographed above is the Walnut Cranberry Squash "Rice" which we have made so many times I have lost count. The recipe can be found on the internet. I have taken it to many potlucks, and to last year's office Christmas party. It is always popular with everyone. The original recipe is a bit salty for me, so I usually cut the salt amount in half. You might start with a small amount of salt, and taste as you go.

Go make some raw food!

Vegan MoFo Day 11: Yeasted Oat Pancakes

This should keep you going while I'm away: a very good, very easy pancake recipe. It makes a great Sunday breakfast. I doubled the recipe recently and make them for a work brunch, and they were very well received. I adapted a recipe I found on the internet.

Mix together: 8 oz oat flour, 8 oz wheat flour, 1 t salt, 1 t sugar, and 1 heaping t commercial yeast.

In a separate container, combine: 1 1/2 c water and 1 1/2 c nondairy milk (I like to use SoDelicious Coconut Milk in this recipe, but anything would work.) Heat the liquid until just lukewarm, and combine with the dry ingredients. Mix well, cover, and let rise for an hour. Cook on a lightly greased griddle, just like regular pancakes.

(I think the measurements in the original recipe are imperial, and are intended to give a thinner, crepe-like pancake. My measurements are American, and yield a result similar to the typical American pancake. Suit yourself!)

Vegan MoFo Day 10: I-75 Interlude

Your dutiful mofoer is going to be away at an undisclosed location in Atlanta for the weekend. Fear not, I will schedule a post for tomorrow so that the mofo goodness will not stop before my return to Nashville. Our secret base in Atlanta is located just around the corner from Stone Soup Kitchen. They do a fabulous tofu scramble with grits, which is very likely to be my breakfast on Saturday. The photo above is from a few weeks ago.

PS - I didn't really go to Atlanta, as we had a big storm. But I am leaving this prescheduled post where it is, as you should know about the awesomeness of Stone Soup's tofu scramble with grits.

Bonus MoFo: "Pepper Steak" Soy Curls

Big nasty storms ruined my plan to go to Atlanta this weekend. I already preloaded some weekend posts, so you get a bonus from my unexpected cooking tonight.

I was thinking about Kim's MoFo posts, in which she is veganizing family favorites, comfort foods, and the like. Once upon a long ago day (more decades ago than I will freely admit), I enjoyed my mother's Pepper Steak, a sort of faux-Chinese-food concoction. Seeing several bell peppers in the fridge, and 3/4 of a bag of Butler's Soy Curls, I set out to see what I could do.

I made a broth from 4 c water, 4 t Better Than Bouillon No Beef Base, and 1 t Champagne Marmite. I brought it to a boil, poured over the 6 oz of dried Soy Curls, and rehydrated for about 10 minutes. I drained the Soy Curls well, pressing out the extra moisture.

In a big frying pan, I heated some peanut oil, and fried 3 cloves garlic (chopped), a generous 1 inch chunk of fresh ginger (peeled and chopped), 1 t kosher salt, and some black pepper. After a few minutes, I added the Soy Curls and fried until they started to brown - maybe 5 minutes or so. I then removed everything from the skillet, and set it aside.

Next, I added a little more peanut oil and 2 chopped onions, and fried until they were caramelizing nicely. I then added 1 t sugar, the reserved Soy Curls mixture, and a mix of 1 T cornstarch, 3/4 c water, and 1/4 c soy sauce. When it thickened up, I added 3 sliced bell peppers (2 green, 1 red, to be exact) and cooked a few more minutes. It will be served over rice, very shortly.

Vegan MoFo Day 9: Raw Turnip Greens

I love turnip greens the traditional, overcooked way as much as any other Southerner. However, tonight I looked at my big bag of greens and wondered if they could be prepared in a raw way, like massaged kale. The answer: YES!

I sliced them into thin ribbons, and then massaged them with red wine vinegar, walnut oil, and salt until they softened, beccoming similar to a cooked texture. As turnip greens are much more tender than kale, it only took about 1 minute. I originally planned to use pepper vinegar, corn oil, and salt (for a more traditional flavor) but decided to branch out.

I think this would be great as a side dish, but I ate it piled on top of a bowl of tomato soup.

Vegan MoFo Day 8: Farm Box Day

This afternoon, I picked up our weekly box of vegetables from Delvin Farms. It is always fun to see what we have - fresh, organic vegetables whose purchase supports a local farmer. (When I posted the photo on Facebook, the long Italian eggplant in the center was, well, veeeery popular.... ) If you are in the Nashville area and are interested in Community Supported Agriculture, all the information you need is here.

I then made a big salad for dinner tonight and work lunches, consisting of items from Delvin boxes from last week and this week, and other things I found in the pantry:

1 smallish spaghetti squash, which I roasted the other day while making soup

1 chopped red bell pepper

2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, chopped, boiled 15 minutes

1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 28 oz can tomatoes, drained and chopped

1/4 c grapeseed oil

LOTS of sage

salt, thyme, granulated onion, granulated garlic to taste

Farm to table, y'all.